Violence escalates in Malaysia

More than 1400 cases of arson, fighting and other election-related crimes have been recorded by police since Malaysia’s Parliament was dissolved for polls that will determine whether
Najib Razak
’s government can extend its five-decade grip on power.

“The violence is much more than in previous elections," said Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections official,
Irene Fernandez
. The increased tension is being driven by the “fear of racial riots" and about the broader implementation of Islamic law, she said.

At least two campaign offices were torched by suspected arsonists at the weekend as politicians held rallies nationwide, The Star newspaper reported.

Authorities also confirmed that they were investigating three similar incidents last week, including a small explosion at an event attended by 3000 supporters of Prime Minister Najib’s Barisan Nasional coalition ahead of the May 5 vote.

Mr Najib’s government faces its strongest challenge to date, after retaining power five years ago by its narrowest margin since Malaysia’s independence from Britain in 1957.

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The markets have priced in Barisan Nasional retaining power in next weekend’s vote with a simple majority, although there is a risk of a hung parliament or the opposition gaining control, RHB Capital reported in early April.

“By far, the challenge put up by the opposition is the strongest ever faced by the federal government," said Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs chief executive,
Wan Saiful Wan Jan
.

“That is why the campaign fever is getting to where it is now. Everyone is feeling that."

The FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI Index closed last week at a record after gaining 8.6 per cent over the past year. The ringgit has rebounded 1.9 per cent against the dollar since Mr Najib dissolved Parliament on April 3 for polls, and is the third-best performing Asian currency this year, Bloomberg reports.

Race riots between ethnic Malays and Chinese left hundreds dead after the 1969 vote when the United Malays Nasional Organisation-led coalition government lost its two-thirds majority in Parliament for the first time.

Mr Najib, 59, was a teenager during that unrest. His father, Abdul Razak Hussein, became prime minister the following year and responded with a program to reduce Chinese dominance in business by giving preferential treatment to Malays and indigenous people, collectively known as Bumiputeras.

Opposition Leader
Anwar Ibrahim
, a former deputy prime minister under Mahathir Mohamad, has pledged to roll back those racial preferences if he takes power, while Mr Najib is pledging to make them more merit-based.

Mr Anwar, 65, leads an ideologically disparate coalition that includes one party with mostly ethnic Chinese and another whose members support the wider implementation of Islamic law, or Hudud, which includes stoning to death and amputation of limbs for certain crimes.

Election banners have been sabotaged, flags pulled down and Molotov cocktails thrown with a total 1414 incidents as of last Friday, resulting in 248 formal reports, an official police Facebook page reports.

“There have been isolated cases throughout the country, though it’s still under control," said Assistant Police Commissioner Ramli Mohamed Yoosuf.

The secretary-general of the opposition Democratic Action Party, Lim Guan Eng, whose party opposes Hudud, received a text message last week saying that his wife and children would be killed if he remained Chief Minister of Penang, The Star reported on Sunday, citing the state’s Police Assistant Commandant, Roslee Chik.

The opposition won control of five of Malaysia’s 13 states – including Penang – in the 2008 vote, when the government lost two-thirds control in Parliament for only a second time, prompting Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to step down as prime minister and hand over the reins to his deputy, Mr Najib.

The government later regained control of Perak state after defections.

Both Mr Najib and Mr Anwar have condemned the violence. Anything but a strong mandate for Barisan Nasional could lead to market instability, the Prime Minister said in an interview broadcast on Al Jazeera on Saturday.

An opposition People’s Alliance win could spell “catastrophic ruin" for Malaysia and the stockmarket and the ringgit would suffer a “sharp decline," Mr Najib said in an April 17 interview, highlighting his track record of boosting investment and economic growth since becoming leader in 2009.

Mr Anwar, who has pledged to fight cronyism and monopolies, responded with a statement describing the Prime Minister’s comments as a “desperate and irresponsible act" designed to “strike fear" in the financial community.

His People’s Alliance coalition holds 75 of 222 parliamentary seats, while Barisan Nasional, also known as the National Front, has 137, the Malaysian Parliament website states. Mr Anwar predicted a minimum 10-seat majority for his alliance in a March 8 interview.